Your Sunday letter from the editor, 9/8

What was that announcement last week? A wristwatch that makes phone calls? And does everything a smartphone can?

Yes. But the story starts more than a century earlier.

Once upon a time, the hot new technology was photography. That was the stepping stone to something bigger: People wanted photos to "move," in sequence, to show an event or slices of life.

"Moving pictures," more familiar to us as "movies," were born.

But unless you waved your Poughkeepsie Journal through the air, newspaper photos could never move. We started providing rudimentary news videos, or short "movies," at PoughkeepsieJournal.com about 10 years ago.

Fast forward. Now, there's a clear marriage of technology, news and what more and more readers want: Videos. Every day.

The number of videos watched on our website bears that out. So far this year, videos have been played 535,000 times. During all of 2012, there were about 262,000 plays.

What changed in recent years? All Journal reporters and photography staff have iPhones. They shoot video. They edit video. They post video on our website from news locations. And they do it instantaneously, so readers can see news as, or moments after, it happens. Also, we sometimes offer longer documentary-style efforts. "Longer" in the world of video means about five to seven minutes, compared to the 30- to 90-second news videos often posted.

It's really supply and demand. The newsroom supplies videos because they help us convey news. Readers watch them because they get news. And smartphones and tablets mean they can watch them wherever they are, whenever they want.

We've revved up our video approaches. Each weekday at 6:30 p.m. at PoughkeepsieJournal.com, we post News@Night, a compilation of the day's news. It's headlined by News­Wrap, a TV-evening-news-style video created by staffers. News@Night also includes the top videos of the day about Dutchess County, as well another collection, Eyecatcher Videos. These are from around the state, nation and world. These are more "viral" in nature because they might be goofy, quirky or heartwarming.

And yes, the news that Samsung is introducing a SmartWatch looks to be another sea change in how the world absorbs information. It used to be that Dick Tracy, that comic-strip detective, had the only SmartWatch. And he had it decades ago, when the concept was purely science fiction.

Heck, give it a few years, and maybe the SmartWatch becomes obsolete when some other snappy gadget bursts forth. Maybe we'll all have Batman-style utility belts that deliver news, make phone calls and feature a "thrust pack" that jets us from place to place. We'd be like "The Jetsons," the futuristic TV cartoon family. Maybe we'll live in homes that float in the air, as George, Jane, Judy and Elroy did.

In the meantime, check out our videos. We'll let you know when you can watch them on your wristwatch.

Thank you for reading, and viewing, the Journal. We do appreciate it. See you next week.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most Popular

Most Commented

More Headlines

Most Viewed

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Your Sunday letter from the editor, 9/8

What was that announcement last week? A wristwatch that makes phone calls? And does everything a smartphone can?